Millions of people have not checked their online tax accounts for errors

Millions of people from across the UK could be paying more tax than they need to, it has emerged, after figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) showed that more than 15 million individuals have not checked their Personal Tax Accounts.

The figure means that less than half of taxpayers have accessed their accounts, risking errors in the amount they pay.

Personal Tax Accounts were introduced by the Revenue in 2015 and include details of income, state pension records and National Insurance contributions.

They were intended to make taxpayers responsible for ensuring they are on the correct tax code.

Personal Tax Accounts can be accessed at gov.uk/personal-tax-account. Registration requires your name, an email address and a password. This will generate a 12-digit Government Gateway ID which will be needed in future when you log in.

You will also need to enter a phone number to generate a separate access code, which will be sent by text or automated call.

To access your account, you will be asked to enter information from a passport, payslip or P60 as well as to answer some security questions.

Under the income section, you will find information on your tax code, including deductions made by HMRC.

It is worth checking your Personal Tax Account as soon as possible. Figures show that 6.7 million people paid the wrong amount of tax last year because their tax code was wrong.